


'Til the End of the Line

by alexcat



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:37:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1842910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers can't let Bucky go.  He needs to save him and Sam pledges to help.  Along the way, he finds unexpected friendship and a little love as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue and Chapter One

Prologue –

As soon as he woke up, Steve Rogers knew that Bucky had saved him. That meant there was still some of Bucky left somewhere inside the Winter Soldier. He knew then he must find him, and Natasha knew it too, so the last thing she did before she disappeared was to hand him the folder.

And warn him not to pull at that string. 

Later that evening, he was in Sam’s apartment, in the spare room that he used since he got out of the hospital this time. He opened the folder and winced as he saw the pictures of Bucky hooked up to that machine. He read the tale of brainwashing and torture, of the drugs and the mind wiping. 

Could his Bucky still be in there? 

He had to know. 

 

**

Chapter One 

Steve called Tony Stark. 

“What can I do for you, Cap?” Tony sounded rather accommodating, considering that he and Rogers disagreed on almost everything. 

“I am looking for the Winter Soldier. I know they experimented on him and made him into what he is now. I’m also pretty sure he has the Super Soldier Serum in him as well. I think he was given that when he was a POW. Is there a way we can find him by looking for the serum?”

Tony laughed. “I just build stuff. But there are whole labs full of science geeks at – well, I have no idea where they are since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, but Maria Hill might be able to help.”

“But will she?” Even Steve wasn’t as much a company person as Hill was. She was very by-the-book. 

“Well, she works for me now, but I think she is in touch with Coulson. He has some geeks who can work magic in a lab.” 

“May I speak with Maria?” 

“She works for me but she’s not here at my house, Rogers. I have a number for her, though.” He read the number off to Steve then said, “Good luck, Rogers. I know your friend was important to you.” 

“Is, Stark. He’s still important.”

Steve hung up the phone and realized that Sam Wilson had been standing behind him the whole time. 

“You’re not going with me on this one. I don’t want you hurt.”

Sam laughed at him. “Not your call, Steve. I owe all of you that much for giving me a way to carry on what my partner and I were doing. Helping you take the Winter Soldier out of the enemy’s arsenal is a plus for me, too.” 

“I need to call Agent Hill - I guess she’s just Ms. Hill now - and ask her about reaching Coulson.”

“I heard. What are you waiting for?”

Steve dialed Hill. 

“Stark Enterprises, Maria Hill here.” 

“Ms. Hill, this is—”

“Steve Rogers. I know your voice, sir. What can I do for you?”

“Coulson, I want to speak with Coulson about something.” 

“I’m not sure he can help you find the Winter Soldier. Not sure he will, in any event.”

“I need to try.” 

Silence on her end then she said, “Let me talk to him. He will call you if he wants to talk to you.” 

Steve knew this was all he was likely to get from her so he agreed. All he had to do now was wait. He decided to use the time to make a list of places the Bucky he knew might go. New York was their town, but the New York of the 1940s, not this crowded, crazy world they lived in now. 

His mind wandered back to the Dodgers. They’d gone to Ebbets as often as they could to see the games. Would Bucky go there? He thought he’d read that there were apartments where the old stadium stood. How easy would it be for him to get to New York anyway? 

He owed Bucky Barnes everything he was. He’d been a skinny orphan after his folks died and Bucky had taken him in, made him family. He’d protected Steve without making Steve feel like less than a man. 

Steve smiled at the thought. He’d never been less than a man, just too scrawny to ever win a fight. He sure knew how to start one though. And Bucky had bailed him out more than once. 

He’d gotten Bucky away from the Germans, but he owed him more than that. He owed him everything. 

He was surprised when the phone rang. He wasn’t expecting it so quickly.

“Captain?” Coulson still had a bit of the star-struck fanboy in his voice. 

“Yes. Thanks for calling me back, Ag—Director Coulson. Tony Stark said you might could help me.”

“Uh oh. If Stark sent you, it’s not something I’m going to like, is it?” 

“Probably not.” 

“Tell me.” 

“Stark said your ‘geeks’ might have a way to search an area for someone with Super Soldier Serum.” 

“He did, did he? Well, we did but I have to check with my ‘geeks’ to see if they still have that capability. We sort of lost everything, you know.” 

“I’m so sorry, Director Coulson.”

“Just call me Phil. And Cap, you and the others like you are worth more than machines and formulas any day.”

“Thank you, sir.” 

“It’s you who we should be thanking. I’ll ask Fitz-Simmons if they have what you’re looking for. I’ll be in touch.”

Steve was surprised. He hadn’t actually expected any help from S.H.EI.E.L.D. or what was left of it. 

Sam was behind him again when he hung up the phone. “When do we go?” he asked. 

“I go, not we,” he answered though he already knew that was not going to happen. 

“So what did he say?”

“Coulson is checking with his scientists.” 

“Do you think HYDRA has him back?” 

“No. If they were in control of him, I’d be dead right now.”

“I’ll be ready when you are.” 

“I’m going out for a bit. Want me to bring back a pizza?” 

“Sure. Got money?” 

“Yep, I got this.”

*

He was standing at Nick Fury’s grave. It was the last place he’d seen Natasha. She’d said she was going off the grid but he hoped to see her, to… He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He just wanted to see her, to look into her eyes. 

“I thought you were going to lay low,” Natasha said as she appeared at his elbow. 

“I thought you were going to disappear.” 

“I did but I reappear here and there, now and again.”

“Want something to eat? A drink?” He was nervous now that she was here. 

“Um, I could use a drink, but you don’t get drunk so what’s the deal?” 

He leaned closer, blushing. “I wanted to be alone with you.” 

“Oh, God. Really? All those women who’d date you and you ask me?” She had that deadpan look that told him she was being sarcastic. Modern sarcasm wasn’t something he always got. 

“I just wanted—”

“Yes. Let’s go. I have a room at a fleabag motel nearby.” 

“Do you think I want sex?” He tried to make it sound like a joke. 

“Don’t you?” She arched a brow at him. 

God, he felt stupid. Of course he wanted her. What man wouldn’t? She was sexy as hell and as deadly as her nickname. 

“I wanted to talk to you before you disappear completely.” 

“We can talk, too. Come on. Let’s get out of this open area.” 

He followed her to a rather nondescript car and she drove them to a seedy motel, an old one that had parking outside each room. They got out and hurried in. 

Natasha closed the door and pushed him back against it. She pressed her body against his and kissed him, putting her mouth right against his ear. “I’m being watched, and I also really do want to do this.” 

He put his arms around her and kissed her back, rather quickly forgetting their watchers. He gasped when, after her hands made short work of his belt and zipper, she took him into her hand.   
He jerked her sweatshirt over her head and threw it across the room. She pulled him toward the bed, kissing and whispering all the while. 

“He’s here somewhere in DC,” she mumbled as the last of their clothes hit the floor and she pulled him on top of her in the bed. 

He didn’t talk, just moved down her body to kiss and lick places that made her squirm. Then he worked his way back to her mouth. “Have you seen him?” He managed before her hand closed around him again and she guided him to her entrance. 

“Someone did. Hard, Steve. I like it hard.” 

He pulled almost all the way out and slammed back into her. “Like that?”

“Fuck, yes! The Smithsonian, the exhibit about you and the Howling Commandos.” 

He put a hand on either side of her head and looked down at her as he did as she asked. She was as sweet and hot as he’d thought she’d be. He was close. She was too.

“I won’t see you anymore for a long time, will I?” he asked as reason left him completely. 

He was lost when he felt her body tighten around him, heard her whisper, “Shut up and love me!” He only thought later how oddly tender that had sounded. 

He held her for as long as she’d let him after. He didn’t want to leave her, not knowing when he’d see her again.

“Go home. Find him. Get a life, Cap. I’ll see you when I see you.” 

She did something more intimate in some ways than the lovemaking they’d just done. She kissed his cheek and looked deep into his eyes. “Stay safe, Steve. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” 

He left reluctantly, but did remember to grab some pizza on the way home. He told Sam about the message but nothing else. Some things were too private to share with anyone. 

~~~


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

 

Steve Rogers dressed in his usual disguise, jeans, t-shirt and a baseball cap, a Brooklyn Dodgers one at that. He was going to walk all over the city, beginning with the Smithsonian exhibit. Maybe he would get lucky and find Bucky somewhere out there. He hadn’t thought much past finding Bucky. He was sure he could reach his friend, though. Very sure. 

He walked through the exhibit, seeing himself and the Howling Commandos. Those missions seemed like only a few months ago, not seventy years ago. His mind wandered back as he stood there. He thought about all the things he did to try to join the Army. There hadn’t been a man in America who wanted to fight more than he had. He’d do it all again, too, if that’s what it took. All but one thing.

He’d save Bucky this time. No matter what. 

He walked all over the touristy areas of DC with no results at all. He thought he might be followed once or twice but if he was, they were faster than he was. As long as they stayed in the shadows, he’d ignore them. 

No sign of Bucky. No sign of the Winter Soldier. 

It was late afternoon when he finally headed back to Sam’s apartment. 

“You need a cell phone, man,” Sam said as he greeted him at the door. “Tony Stark has been calling you. He left a number.” 

Steve made a face. He knew he needed a cell phone, but it seemed to be a huge invasion of privacy to him. He’d watched people sitting in restaurants, reading texts or talking on their phones instead of talking to their companions. He’d seen people almost walk into traffic while texting. He’d seen a guy using a urinal with one hand while he held his phone in the other. 

“Call him. It sounded important.” 

He dialed the number. 

“What the fuck, Cap? I don’t have time to wait for you to call.”,” Tony snapped at him.

Steve sighed. Stark was the embodiment of the modern world and twice as brash. 

“What is it, Stark?” 

“Coulson is sending me and Fitz-Simmons there with your serum detector. I think my job is to corral them and you. I’m getting ready to head that way on one of the few planes that Coulson still has. We’ll meet you at this address.” He gave Steve an address somewhere in an outlying warehouse district that hadn’t yet been repurposed for upscale apartments and condos.   
“When will you be there?” Steve asked. 

“With this plane? Couple of hours, tops.”

“Coulson’s Bus?”

“Well, it’s _a_ bus, not sure if it’s his or another one.” 

“Sam and I will find the warehouse.” 

“Watch yourselves,” Tony warned before he rang off. 

Steve could have run to the address with little fatigue but Sam needed transportation so they hauled out his beat up car and headed that way. 

“Keep an eye out for someone tailing us. I thought I might be followed when I was out looking for Bucky earlier,” Steve said as they drove into a less populated area. 

“No cars. If they’re following, they’re on foot.” 

“The Winter Soldier can travel as fast as I can and is pretty good at stealth.”

“But he’s who we’re looking for,” Sam said, glancing over at Steve while he drove.

“He might not know that.” 

The warehouse was further out of the city than Steve had thought it would be. It looked deserted and derelict, a giant, rusty Quonset type building with several broken windows. Steve wasn’t thrilled with this as a choice of meeting place. 

They drove around the building and behind it sat a huge black airplane, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s remaining Globemasters. 

“I guess they beat us here,” Steve said.

“Well, it did take us a while to find it.” 

The cargo bay doors dropped open and Tony Stark came strolling out of the back of the plane. 

“Well, there is Captain America and his trusty sidekick,” he said with his usual sarcasm. Steve did notice there wasn’t much bite in his insults though. 

“Hello, Stark.” 

A pair of what appeared to be youngsters came out of the plane behind Stark, a boy and a girl. Well, they were young, maybe not much younger than he would be if he hadn’t slept 70 years.   
The girl walked up to him, blushing furiously as she stuck out her hand. “I’m Jemma Simmons and this is my colleague, Leo Fitz, and I – we’re so pleased to meet you.”

“Steve Rogers,” he said he shook her hand, “and this is Sam Wilson.”

“Ohh, you’re the one with the EXO-7 Falcon Flight Suit,” the young man said, his accent definitely Scottish. 

“Yes, but it got damaged,” Sam answered. 

“I know. I’m working on it with Mr. Stark. We should have you flying again in no time, Mr. Wilson.” 

Jemma was still holding Steve’s hand and smiling at him with a glazed look on her face. He had encountered this before. She was what Sam called a fangirl. 

Stark finally rescued him. “Let’s get out of the open and get the equipment moved into the building,” he said as he pointed Jemma back into the plane to supervise the agents who’d come with them. 

Fitz told Sam, “We’ll talk more later about that suit,” and ran after Jemma.

Tony pointed to the warehouse. “Shall we?” 

Steve wished he had his shield out of the car and almost as if he read his mind, Stark said, “Go get your shield. We might have company. One never knows these days.”

Steve returned momentarily with his shield. They all made their way slowly and carefully into the warehouse. It was quiet and dark except for the light let in from the high windows that appeared broken from the outside but were clearly real from the inside. Tony stopped at a console inside the door and flipped a switch. The huge building was immediately bathed with light. 

It was no empty warehouse at all. It was a maze of rooms and cubicles, all brightly lit and antiseptic white. This could have been inside any research facility in any university instead of in a rundown building in an abandoned area in a major city. The agents brought many boxes and plastic tubs from the plane as well as some steel containers that were clearly marked as hazardous material. Tables, chairs and work stations appeared from nowhere as well. 

Steve and Sam watched it all, in awe of how quickly they made the whole building a state of the art laboratory.

“Now what?” Steve asked Tony. 

“Now we find your Winter Soldier, if he does indeed carry any of the Super Soldier Serum.”

“Thank you, Stark,” Steve said quietly, 

“Thank Coulson. He’s the one who moved heaven and earth to make this lab appear here. He really does have a thing for you, doesn’t he?” 

“He did say he had all my trading cards.” Steve smiled as he said it. 

Stark harrumphed and turned to tell someone where to put something. 

Within the next hour, Fitz-Simmons had their machines up and running. Simmons called the others over to the sealed space where she and Fitz had been working.

“Okay, we have it running but it works by proximity. You have to get the device within a half a kilometer of the person, so we made it portable.”

She held out a flat disc about the size of a compact disc, though it looked like a huge watch and the screen looked a lot like a radar screen. A red dot pulsed in the middle of the screen. 

“That is you, Captain America. We used a sample of your blood to program it to find your particular serum. We can make it scan for other things as well,” Jemma told him. 

Steve didn’t even want to know how she got his blood. 

“So I take this and if I see another dot, it’s Bucky?”

“Yes, if Bucky is the Winter Soldier and if he does indeed have the same serum in his blood as you do.”

“All right! I’m ready to go,” Steve started toward the door. 

“Not so fast, Rogers.” Stark stopped him.. “Coulson has rules for you and questions for you. I’m also supposed to go with you.”

Reluctantly, he followed Stark to an office with a desk and a large screen. Stark pressed a button and the surprised face of Phil Coulson appeared on the screen. Coulson did not look like an accomplished agent in a shadow agency like S.H.I.E.L.D.; instead, he looked like a banker who had no idea why they made him the boss. 

“Hello there, Cap,” Coulson greeted him. “Tony has told you I have some conditions for you to be able to use the tech to find Barnes?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Phil. Call me Phil.”

“Yes, si – Phil.”

Coulson smiled. “Better. Now the number one thing is, when you find Barnes, you must bring him in. He may have information we need. I know you care about Barnes but the Winter Soldier is lethal. We must contain him. That really is the only condition. Oh, and don’t tear the city up too badly.” 

“Yes, Phil, sir.” 

And Coulson was gone. 

Steve turned to Tony Stark. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” 

~~~~


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

Sam, Steve and Tony got into Sam’s car.

“So, we just drive around?” Tony asked. 

Steve shrugged. “You got a better idea?” 

“He’s going to be hunting you, most likely,” Tony said in an attempt to be helpful. 

“Do you think I’m crazy?” Steve asked. 

“Yes, but I am, too, so that doesn’t bother me too much. Crazy I’m used to.”

They drove to Sam’s apartment and got out. “So, we’re going to wander around in the wide open? You do know I’m not in the suit anymore, don’t you?” Stark asked Steve.

“I’m not in one either.” 

“But you don’t need the suit, Rogers.”

Steve looked at Tony for a second and said, “I’ll protect you.” 

“Ass,” Stark mumbled under his breath as they walked down the street. 

Sam shook his head. “You two, get a room.” 

By midafternoon, they had covered a wide area, but had no trace of anyone with the serum. Stark was tired. He’d got up in the middle of the night to fly in from the West Coast and superhero or not, he was knackered. 

“I have a condo here in the city that I use for Stark Enterprises business. Both of you are welcome to stay there while I’m here. Cap? Sam?” 

Sam bowed out. He said his fish needed feeding. Steve decided he wanted to see how Stark lived. “I’ll come along. Give Sam a night off as my keeper.” 

Sam just grinned and shook his head. 

They all made their way back to Sam’s apartment and a car arrived a few minutes later for Tony and Steve. They made their way out to Georgetown. 

Tony’s condo was on two floors of an expensive building. Steve had never seen anything like it. Tony showed him to a bedroom that was almost as big as Sam’s whole apartment. It had a king sized bed with a canopy, for God’s sake. The bathroom was the size of his former apartment. The tub was an updated claw foot big enough for two, and the shower was ultramodern with music and even a small TV monitor in the corner. It had a regular shower, and one where the water simply fell down as if it was raining. And steam, too. 

Steve felt like a bull in a china shop. 

He jumped when Tony spoke behind him. “Why don’t you try the shower out? You’re jumpy as hell.”

He turned, ready to argue with Stark, but the eccentric millionaire had changed into ratty shorts and a Superman t-shirt, a look that totally disarmed him. 

“What do you like to eat? JARVIS tells me we can have our choice. Something tells me that a nice steak and some fries might hit the spot with you.” 

Steve just stared. Had the bastard checked up on him to see what to cook? What was his angle? Tony Stark had to have an angle, didn’t he? 

“So sue me! I asked Sam what you liked to eat. He said you talked about steak sometimes.”

“That was,” he searched for a nice word, “considerate.” 

Tony waved it off in that flip way he had. “Before I forget, word is that you and Natasha Romanov had a thing. Any truth to it?”

“Don’t you have any manners?” 

Tony laughed hard. “Me? Fuck no. So is she good?” Steve took a step toward him. Tony put up his hands. “Just curious. She’s one of the few women I know who pays me no mind. So naturally, I wonder about her.” 

Steve stared at him without speaking.

Tony shrugged. “Dinner is at eight. Since I know you don’t drink alcohol, is soda okay?”

Steve nodded, glad to get rid of his annoying host. 

The hot water felt good. He hadn’t known his shoulders were all knotted up and his head was ringing with the noise of the city. He shed those things in the shower, letting the water wash everything away but here and now. 

Of course, Tony’s rude questions made him think of Nat. God, he’d never expected her to be so, so hot. It made his skin burn to think of that night with her. There had been a few women back in the forties, after he’d become Captain America, but the military had kept a tight rein on him, making sure that no hint of scandal sullied up their ultimate hero. 

He and Peggy Carter had almost made love once, but they’d been interrupted before they got much past groping. He still remembered her soft skin and the way she smelled. She was his biggest regret. 

He realized his hands were shriveling from being in the shower so long. He turned off the water and stepped out, drying off with the fluffiest towel he’d ever seen. This is how Stark lived? No wonder he was such a shit. Living like this could spoil a man, make him soft. But Stark wasn’t soft. He was tough and brilliant. He was still a shit, though. 

He dried his short hair and combed it, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt that he’d grabbed at the apartment. 

Something smelled wonderful when he stepped out of his room. 

“Dinner is ready.” Tony pointed to a seat beside his at the head of the table. “You sit there.” 

Steve sat. A young man came in with their food. The first course was a salad. Steve ate like he’d not had food in weeks. Tony chattered about mechanical things and computerized things that Steve knew little about. The second course was steak and fries with a pretty broccoli dish on the side. 

“Pepper says I have to eat some vegetables,” Tony offered in explanation of the broccoli. Steve ate. Everything was delicious, and he ate it all. 

Dessert was cheesecake, tiny slices with a few local grown strawberries on top. Steve ate all of that, too. Tony thanked his cook, who nodded and left them.

“Do you not get enough to eat?” Tony seemed serious. 

“Yeah, but not this good. We eat pizza and take out for the most part.”

Stark laughed. “I do too, unless Pepper makes me eat right. That seems to be a woman thing.” 

“Why did you come?” Steve asked abruptly.

“Coulson sent me.” 

“No one makes you do much that you don’t want to do.” 

“I sort of volunteered. We’re kinda shorthanded right now, in case you’ve not noticed.”

“But you don’t even like me.” 

“Oh, I like you well enough. We just don’t agree on much. So, do you like sports?”

“Baseball. I like baseball.” 

He led Steve to a den with a huge screen television in it. He pointed to one of the recliners there and sat in the other himself. He picked up a remote and found a baseball game. “Not sure who is playing, but it’s baseball.”

They watched in an oddly companionable silence for a long while. Steve was enjoying the game more than he’d thought. He and Bucky never dreamed of such wonders when they were growing up. He felt that uncomfortable twinge he got when he realized that he was completely outdated. 

“Not as good as the real thing but close,” Tony said, which made him feel a little better. 

“The crowd makes it more fun but this, this is great.”

“Did you have a girl back then?” 

Before he answered, he looked over at Stark to make sure he wasn’t being made fun of again. Stark looked sincere. 

“No. I was too much of a shrimp. Hell, I was barely as tall as the elementary school kids. Girls didn’t want someone who was littler than their kid brothers. They liked Bucky. I got his leftovers sometimes.”

Stark didn’t say anything, but didn’t seem to be waiting for more details either, so Steve asked him, “How about you before you were famous?”

“Well, I was always an ass and always rich and famous, but I never cared about the girls I had. I fucked them and sent them away. Until Pepper.” 

“Why all the questions?” 

“I’m nosy. Ever been with a man?” 

Steve’s mouth fell open. What the hell kind of question was that? He’d been called a fruit when he was a scrawny weakling but even then, he’d never thought about men that way. Not until he’d been awakened in this century did he even meet someone who was openly homosexual. 

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m not – I don’t…”

“I’m not either, but I am always one thing: curious. I’ll try anything at least once.”

“So have you?” 

“Yeah. Long time ago.”

“And?” Steve’s face felt get hot, and he knew he must be blushing but he didn’t know why.

“Intense. Erotic.”

Steve was surprised at his answer. He expected him to say it wasn’t good, that he didn’t like it, but then Tony Stark seldom said or did what anyone thought he would. 

Just then someone hit a grand slam homerun and Steve’s attention was back on the ballgame. It wasn’t until later that he wondered if Tony had ideas about _him_! 

Steve’s sleep restless despite the huge soft bed. He thought of Peggy and Natasha, wondered what it would be like to have someone to love, to go home to. He wondered if Stark knew how lucky he was. 

~~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 

“Time to rise and shine, Cap.” It was Stark, standing over him in striped boxer shorts. 

“Go away.” 

“God, Captain America is grumpy in the morning! I brought coffee. There is toast, fruit, yogurt and granola in the kitchen.”

“Granola?” 

“Pepper,” was Stark’s one word explanation. 

“Be out in a minute.” 

He sat up after Tony left. Despite the wonderful bed, he’d had a fitful night, dreaming of Natasha and of all people, Stark. The three of them had been all tangled up in his dream. All naked and tangled up. 

He ran his hand over his face and got out of the bed, cleaned up and made his way out to the kitchen. Stark was eating and talking on his phone. From the sounds, he was talking to Pepper. 

“No, I’m eating yogurt and granola. I promise. No. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Love you, too.” 

He motioned Steve to the table where food was laid out, several fruits, yogurt, granola, juices and a big pot of coffee. Steve helped himself to everything. 

“You eat like a horse!” Stark looked at his plate after he got off the phone. 

“It’s the serum. It’s made me eat this way since I changed.” 

“Your perfection is annoying, Rogers.” 

“Your being an ass is annoying as well, Stark.” 

Unexpectedly, Tony smiled. “We’re even then. Two asses.” 

They finished their food and headed for the makeshift S.H.I.E.L.D. station. Sam was already there as was Maria Hill. She had come in overnight. 

“Maria, good to see you. It must be bad news though, if Coulson has sent you in person,” Stark said as a greeting. 

“We think that HYDRA is in this area as well, looking for our target, too.”

“He’s a man,” Steve said curtly. 

“I apologize, Captain. But they are after the Winter Soldier, nevertheless, and we have to find him first, and we have to protect Fitz-Simmons as well. They are very valuable to us since so many of our scientists were lost when HYDRA struck,” Maria said, her eyes dark with anger. “I have more guards for this facility, and I’ve come to aid you and Stark, Captain.”

They divided up and began their search through the city again. Steve had that being watched again feeling. 

“I don’t think we’re alone, but I don’t know who is following us,” he said to Maria. 

“Are you sure that Barnes has the serum in him?” she asked.

“Pretty sure. He was stronger than a normal man in the war and now, he’s as strong as I am.”

“Then it’s not him. If it’s HYDRA, they think we’ll lead them to Barnes. If not, then I have no idea.”

It occurred to Steve that it might be Natasha, but he said nothing. If she wanted to be hidden, then he wouldn’t blow her cover. He owed her that much and more. 

They met the others in Crystal City for lunch. Stark and Sam had not seen anyone, but they had found a couple of warehouses with some odd electrical signatures. They were using much more power than an empty warehouse should, which suggested computers and cooling equipment. Maybe they were HYDRA facilities of some sort. They certainly were worth checking out.

They all went to the first of these warehouses together. Stark and Sam took the back exit and Rogers and Maria took the front. It turned out to be a drug trafficking headquarters, so they turned the criminals over to the DC cops and headed for the second one. 

That one turned out to be more promising, and it also turned out to have guards, guards who shot at them before they entered the building. Agent Hill was a crack shot and took two of them out as they rushed them on the outside while Steve took the entry door with his shield, deflecting a hail of bullets. Sam and Tony had apparently met no resistance from the back. Hill lined up prisoners and called for a cleanup detail while Steve led the others on a search. 

Gunshots rang out again when they entered an office in the back section of the warehouse. Captain America was in the front and held his shield out until a small woman ran out of bullets. 

Sam went around him and grabbed her by the arm. “Are there more?” 

She glared at them but didn’t speak. 

Reinforcements arrived and they cleared the building, hauling the gunmen and the woman away. 

“Who were they?” Stark asked. 

Maria said one thing and would not elaborate. “Not HYDRA.” 

“You knew the little woman?” He asked her. 

She said nothing, barking orders into her Bluetooth instead of answering Stark. Stark slammed his fist into his hand and walked away. She _had_ known the woman.

Steve was fairly sure she had nothing to do with Bucky, so he said nothing. 

After the area was cleared and all the tech was hauled away, the four of them drove to headquarters. Tony hadn’t spoken a word since the fight. He motioned for Steve to follow him away from the building once they got out of the car. Hill went inside and Sam hung back, waiting for Tony and Steve to have the talk that Stark seemed to want. 

“Do you know what that was all about?” He asked Steve, his anger evident in his dark eyes. 

“No. I suspect it has something to do with whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. was working on before HYDRA hit the fan.”

“I hate secrets. No, I hate secrets when I don’t know them.” 

Steve shook his head. “I’m not sure Agent Hill’s goals are my goals. I’m going to find Bucky. Good luck with whatever she is after.” 

He took off in a jog back toward the city. He didn’t bother to tell Tony that he still had the Serum detector with him. He turned it on when he got back near the capitol and for a moment, a second dot bleeped on the screen and was gone. 

The bleep was near the Smithsonian. Bucky was there again! He rushed to the exhibit. Bucky might be able to disguise himself, but not that metal arm. There weren’t many people nearby and none of them could have been Bucky, so he walked around the whole area, making increasing circles as he went. Nothing showed up on the device when he checked it again, but it had only shown up for a second before. Was Bucky able to cloak himself somehow? 

“Bucky, where are you?” he said to himself. 

That was when he felt that presence again. Nat? Or Bucky? 

“Come out. I know you’re there,” he said quietly. 

Nothing. 

“Natasha?”

Silence. 

“Bucky?”

“Who is Bucky?” 

“You are.” Steve turned slowly. Bucky was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, though both were a little worse for wear. He had on a baggy hoody to hide his arm. He wore the heavy boots that the Winter Soldier had worn. On his head, he wore a ball cap with the brim pulled down to hide his face. 

“I don’t know who Bucky is.”

Steve’s heart was pounding hard. “Do you know who I am?” 

“I – You’re someone I know, but I can’t remember exactly who. I think we may have been friends.” 

“I’m Steve. You and I were best friends as kids and as young men.” 

“We were? I – oh, ‘til the end of the line?” 

Steve wanted to throw his arms around Bucky, to jump up and down with joy, but he was afraid any sudden movement would spook him. 

“Those others are not my friends. They want to strap me into the chair, to look inside my head.” 

“Maybe they do. They do not mean harm though.” 

“I will see you again, Steve.” 

And before Steve could react, Bucky was gone, as if the very earth itself had swallowed him up.

~~~~


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five 

 

Steve didn’t move for a long time. The only reason he finally did is Tony Stark walked up to him and said, “He was here, wasn’t he?” 

Steve nodded. 

“Did he – was he Bucky?”

“Not quite, but he wasn’t the Winter Soldier either. He said he thought he might know me, that maybe we’d been friends. He said he didn’t want to be captured and experimented on. I – he left. I can’t give him to Agent Hill, Stark.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected but Tony nodded. “No. You know that no one wants to harm him. Our people will try to help him, but you know as well as I do that we, all of us, have an agenda.” 

“I can’t bring him in. Not for that.” 

“Then we won’t tell them until you figure out what to do. If he can remember who he is then maybe he can make his own decision.”

“So you’ll keep it quiet?”

“Yes, but consider one thing. Banner. Maybe he could talk to Banner. This guy is one of the most brilliant men ever and when his beast is quiet, he’s also a compassionate man.”

“I’ll think about it then. I liked Dr. Banner when we were on the Helicarrier.”

“It’s getting late and I need a damned drink. Come back home with me and we’ll get cleaned up, and find some nameless bimbos to pass the evening with.” 

Steve had no real interest in a bimbo, but he did need a diversion for a few hours. Stark was nothing if not a diversion. 

*

The bar was noisy and had too many flashing lights. It made Steve’s head hurt, but they had women, three each, as best he could tell. Tony was drunk enough to be silly instead of just a jerk, and Steve was trying hard to get into the spirit of things. 

All he could think of was Bucky. Was he warm? Did he have food? Shelter? 

“Hey, _Steve_ , I need to take a leak and I don’t think I can find the men’s room.” Tony was very drunk. 

Steve hauled him up and they went to the restroom. Stark just stood there. 

“I may need some help,” he finally said with a dumb grin. 

“I’m not holding your dick, Stark.” 

Tony waggled his eyebrows at Steve. “I think I can find my dick. I might need some help getting out of this mess.”

“Mess?” 

“Should we take them home with us?” He waved toward the door.

“Them?” Steve knew he meant the women. 

“Girls…” 

“I think we’d better leave them here. We gotta get up and hit the street with Agent Hill again tomorrow. And Pepper might not appreciate it.” 

Stark made a face then agreed. When they exited the bathroom, Steve led him out into the bar, made him pay the tab and took him outside to their waiting car. Stark being wealthy enough to have a car waiting was one of the good things about him. 

Steve started to leave after he unlocked the apartment door and saw Stark inside. 

“Stay tonight. You had a hell of a day. And I’m drunk. Stay.”

Steve felt off being here at Stark’s condo again. He didn’t let that stop him from enjoying the wonderful shower. As he stood under the water, he heard the bathroom door open. He didn’t move. 

Finally the shower door opened. Tony stood there, naked. Steve said nothing, just looked at him. Tony reached into the shower and turned the water down to little more than a drip. He stepped into the small space and pushed Steve back against the wall then dropped to his knees in front of him. 

Steve forgot to breathe as he watched Tony Stark reach for him, caress him to hardness. He reached for the safety rail when Stark’s hot mouth enclosed him. He watched almost as if he were watching someone else. 

Almost.

Except for feeling as if his whole body might ignite any time. Tendrils of fire ran down his legs, through his groin, up to his brain. 

“God…” he whispered, whether as a curse or a prayer he didn’t know. 

If Tony didn’t stop soon, his knees were going to buckle and he’d slide to the floor. More likely, he was going to come in Tony’s mouth. Soon. 

As if he read his mind, Tony stopped and stood up slowly. He licked the corner of his upper lip.

“Please…” Steve heard someone beg, then realized he was the person who’d spoken. 

Tony leaned close to him and kissed him, a long, hungry kiss that was almost as erotic and intimate as what Tony had been doing with his mouth a few seconds sooner. 

“Come with me,” Tony murmured against his mouth. They stepped out of the shower, not bothering to turn the water off. Tony grabbed a towel and dried Steve off, carefully drying every part of his body before quickly drying his own and taking Steve’s hand. 

They walked silently to the bed. Steve was reluctant to let go of Tony’s hand and pulled him into the bed of top of him. Tony made a sound deep in his throat as he pulled Steve hard against his own body. 

“I have no idea what to do,” Steve finally said. 

Tony bit Steve’s bottom lip gently. “No worries. I do. We’ll take it slow.”

More kisses. Hot. Wet. 

Tony slipped a hand between them and found Steve’s erection. He wrapped his hand around it and slowly slid up and down the length. 

“I – might lose control if you keep doing that,” Steve ground out. 

“Want me to stop?” Tony stopped moving his hand. He whispered into Steve’s ear then tugged his earlobe gently with his teeth.

“Hell, no. Never.” Steve thrust into the still hand, urging him to move. 

“Touch me too, Cap,” Tony commanded. Steve did. 

He decided for the moment not to think about what he was doing. Or who he was doing it with. He sought Tony’s mouth, sliding his tongue in and out in the same rhythm his hand was moving. Tony groaned and shifted so his penis was pressed against Steve’s, both their hands working up and down in an increasing motion. 

They held onto one another as they rode their pleasure to its end, both lying sweaty and sticky when it was done. 

Tony finally grabbed a towel they’d thrown to the side and wiped himself off then Steve. He threw the towel off the bed and lay down beside Steve, curling up against him. 

“Night,” he said and closed his eyes. 

It was hours before Steve could even think about sleep. He’d never even thought about doing what he and Tony had just done. He certainly never thought it would feel so good. His face colored as he realized what he’d really like was to wake Stark and do it again. He was not quite bold enough to do that yet. 

He finally slept.

*

Tony acted as if nothing happened after they got up. Steve wondered if he even remembered. Maybe he was too drunk. 

“Well, what do we say to Maria?” Tony asked as they got ready to leave the apartment. 

“Nothing right now.” 

Before Steve had a chance to even think about it, Tony stopped in front of the door and turned around to him as if he were going to say something more, but instead, he kissed Steve. Not just a peck, but a proper kiss that left Steve more than a little flustered. 

“Did you think I forgot?” Tony said with a wink, before he opened the front door. 

Steve had trouble concentrating all day, made worse by the fact that Maria traveled with Sam and he was with Stark. 

After they’d walked ten blocks in silence, Tony stopped in the middle of crossing a street. 

“Did I do something to annoy you?” 

Steve wanted to slap him. “I’m distracted today.”

“It’s all okay, Steve. I’m not going to – it was just – look, I was drunk and horny. I’ve done worse things.” 

“What was my excuse?” 

They had started walking and were on the other side of the street when Tony stopped again.

“You’re human. How many people have you been with since 1945?” 

“Two.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

Steve blushed.

“If you need me, you know where I live. So where do you think your Bucky might be hiding? Let’s see if we can help him remember who he is.”

They hunted Bucky the rest of the day. 

Steve knew that he would go home with Stark again if he had a chance. He was a little embarrassed at that but it was the truth, the simple truth. 

~~~~


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six 

Stark did ask. Late in the day, they were all at the warehouse headquarters. Fitz-Simmons were busy as bees showing them new things and better ways to hunt Bucky. Well, actually Fitz had made off with Sam to show him the Falcon suit since it had been repaired and improved. 

Stark spoke very quietly. “Coming over for dinner?” 

Steve nodded, not trusting his voice not to give away to everyone what was going on between them. He felt like his face already told everyone what he and Stark had done. 

They rode home together, Tony chattering away about something and Steve sitting quietly. Oddly enough, he found Tony’s nonstop talking soothing. 

Once inside the door, Steve grabbed Tony and pushed him against the door. He kissed him, pressing him hard against the door while tugging at Tony’s belt and pants until they dropped to the floor in a puddle around Tony’s feet. 

Tony’s breath hissed when Steve knelt down in front of him. Tony Stark finally lost his cool when Captain America took him into his mouth. “Crap,” he whispered as he braced himself against the door. 

Minutes later, a spent Stark slid down the door to sit on the floor. “Certainly not what I expected,” he finally said as Steve flopped down beside him. 

“We probably should stop doing these things. I can’t seem to think,” Steve finally managed to say. 

Tony laughed. His smart mouth was back already. “I think your brain might work better if we do something to make the blood return to it. If you’ll get your pants off, I’ll, uh, see what I can do to help.” 

Steve’s hands shook a little as he did as he was told. Tony had managed to untangle himself from the pants around his ankles and he kissed Steve, then got up and led him to the sofa where he proceeded to kneel on the floor in front of Steve. 

Steve watched, almost as aroused by the sight as he was by the sensation, as Tony licked his thigh slowly from his knee up to the juncture of leg and body. He was so close that his beard actually brushed against Steve’s penis. Steve grunted at the touch. Tony stopped and looked at him, licked his lips and found his true target, taking Steve as deep as he could into his mouth. It was too intense to last long. Steve’s hands gripped the sofa cushions as he tried not to cry out. When it was done, he felt completely boneless as he sank back into the sofa. 

Tony sat back and looked at him. “So can you think now?” 

Steve couldn’t help but laugh. “You are an ass, Stark.”

“That I am. Are you hungry, because I am really hungrier than I thought I was. I know some good takeout places and some decent delivery ones as well. Chinese? Pizza? Asian Fusion? McDonalds?” 

“Stop talking.” 

“I talk too much, don’t I?”

“Yes, but I like it most of the time.” 

“So Chinese?” Tony was smiling, something he actually didn’t do very often. 

“Chinese.”

Half an hour later, they were dressed and eating dinner in the den of the huge apartment, on the same sofa Steve had been sitting on a few minutes before. Tony had a news channel playing when they heard an odd report.

“Today at the Smithsonian Howling Commandos exhibit, someone reported seeing one of the Commandos standing near the exhibit. As you know, Captain America was associated with this group, and he and recently deceased Nick Fury were with the discredited S.H.I.E.L.D. agency.  
No one answered our calls at the Smithsonian.” 

“He was there again. Maybe he was looking for me. And here I am thinking only of myself.” 

“You gotta eat, Rogers.” 

“I don’t have to get blow jobs!” 

“He knows how to find you if he wants you.” 

“What if the others find him first?” 

“Steve, from what I understand, a whole army of agents won’t take him if he doesn’t want to be caught.” 

“He beat the crap out of me, and I’m the toughest s.o.b. around.” 

“So eat your dinner and calm down. We need to leave him a message somewhere, something no one else will get. You say he doesn’t know you, but would he know your shield?”

“I think so.” 

“We need to leave him a message with a drawing or photo of your shield. He will know it’s you and maybe he’ll talk to you.” 

“He said he’d see me again. I’ll just go there and wait.” 

“You do know that Coulson will have a second device to keep tabs on you and hunt Bucky as well?” 

He hadn’t thought of that, but he knew something he hadn’t told Stark. Bucky had only appeared on the screen for a second. Something about him was making him invisible to the reader after one initial reading. 

“We’ll go early, before the tourists. Maybe he’ll come out then,” Stark said around a mouthful of noodles. 

“He’s not going to show himself with you there either.”

“I think maybe we can fit you with something to talk to me, but I’ll stay away.” 

Steve agreed to that. 

Later, Steve went to the guest room, showered and got into the huge bed. He was nearly asleep when he felt the weight of someone else getting into the bed with him. He didn’t move, unsure what to do or say. He wasn’t sure he wanted to take what he had with Stark to another level. But he was sure that a part of him really enjoyed the level they were on. 

Tony kissed the back of his neck. “It’s okay. I just came in here to sleep. I, well, I’m, I don’t like to sleep alone.”

Steve didn’t turn over but he smiled at the words. He reached back for Tony’s hand and pulled it over and held it against his chest. Tony moved closer and the next thing Steve knew, it was morning. 

When Steve woke in the morning, he knew that he was not going to turn Bucky over to Coulson. He needed to spend time with him, to help him remember who he was and then let Bucky make that decision. He had volunteered for what was done to him but Bucky hadn’t, and he deserved that choice. 

Was he going to tell Tony? 

He knew that he had to trust someone. He trusted Natasha, but she wasn’t here. He trusted Sam and knew Sam would back him up, but Tony had resources. He needed help from someone who really _could_ help him. 

Tony was still asleep when he got up and padded barefoot to the kitchen. He made coffee, one of his few culinary skills, and wandered over to the front windows. 

It was only for a second but he saw him. Bucky was here. He’d followed them home. Should he go out there? 

Of course. 

He had thrown his jeans and t-shirt on when he’d gotten up so he unlocked the front door and stepped outside. He walked to the garden off to the side of the complex and sat down. Maybe Bucky would come to him.

“Steve,” Bucky said as he sat beside him on the beach. 

“Are you all right?” 

“Yes. I need to know more about Bucky. Is that who I was?” 

“You still are.” Steve wanted to cry when he looked at his friend. 

“But I can’t seem to remember.”

“I’ll help you.” 

“I won’t let anyone put me back on the machine!” Fear darkened Bucky’s eyes.

“I won’t either. I will talk to you, be your friend. Some of your memories will come back, maybe all of them.” 

“I have to think about it. I don’t know. I want to believe you.” 

“Then do, Bucky. Believe me.” 

Unexpectedly, Bucky reached for his hand, reached with his real hand. Steve let him take it, let him squeeze it. He forced himself not to grab Bucky and hug him tight. He didn’t want to frighten the skittish creature away. 

“I’ll see you soon, Steve.” And he left. 

Steve sat without moving until Tony walked into the garden. He handed Steve a cup of coffee and sat down beside him. 

“Not going to tell them, are you?” 

Steve shook his head. “I can’t. I promised him.” 

Tony touched his shoulder. “Then you’re going to need my help.” 

~~~


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Steve and Tony went back inside, deciding there might be more ears than Bucky’s out in the garden. Steve got out the fruit and yogurt while Tony found some bowls. 

While they ate, Tony spoke, “We are going to get in deep shit for hiding him or helping him hide, but I have no problem with that. I’m always in deep shit with someone.” He winced at his last statement. 

Steve felt a stab of guilt because he knew Tony was thinking of Pepper. He’d cheated on Pepper with him. He knew he should stop, but he wasn’t all that sure he could right now. This thing with Tony, whatever it was, had gotten intense very quickly. 

“I think I can find a place or two to hide him.” Tony got quiet, apparently lost in thought. “It sure would be nice if we could contact Nat. I’ll give that some thought, too.” 

“So do we act as if we’ve not seen him?”

“Maybe. Is Wilson trustworthy?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to get him in trouble if I can help it.” 

“Would he get mad if you did this and kept it from him?”

“Yes, he would. I suppose he’ll just have to decide whether he wants to be involved or not.”

Tony got busy, he was checking things on his computer and talking to JARVIS quietly. 

Steve drank the last of his coffee and wandered back over to the window. Was Bucky still out there or had he moved on to wherever he hid? Did he feel for Bucky what he felt for Tony? That one he knew the answer to. He felt like Bucky was his family, his brother. Tony was someone he – oh dear God – what? Wanted to fuck? Cared about? More? Even loved?

He didn’t even notice that Tony had come up behind him until he felt a hand at his waist. “If he can be helped, we will help him.” 

Steve turned and pulled Tony into his arms and held him tight. “Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you–” 

“Shhh. You can’t say things like that to me. It’ll go to my head and make me more arrogant than I already am.” 

“You’re an ass,” Steve whispered as he kissed Tony, a simple kiss that deepened into a hunger that they both knew they had no time for right now. Steve was the one who finally pulled away. “We need to go.” 

They went to Sam’s apartment and took him to breakfast. Yogurt and fruit could only hold Steve for so long. He needed some real food. 

“All right, Cap. What’s up?” Sam said as he cut into an omelet. 

“Bucky has contacted me. He doesn’t want to be taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. because he is afraid they’ll want to do experiments on him like HYDRA has done,” Steve answered. 

Sam nodded. “As well they might. And you’re thinking of helping him escape?” 

“Just until he gets some of his memory back. He isn’t quite the Bucky I know, but he’s not the Winter Soldier either.”

“You’re on board with this, Stark?” Sam raised an eyebrow at Tony. 

“I agree that Barnes should be able to choose for himself. I’ve told Steve that I’ll help all I can.”

“What do you need me to do?” Sam asked. 

“I don’t want you to get in trouble with Coulson and Hill so maybe nothing, but I wanted you to know. You’re my friend, and I sort of got you into this mess.” 

“This is the best mess I’ve ever gotten into, Cap. Anything you need, just ask.” 

They all drove to the headquarters building and were met by Agent Hill. She knew by looking at them that something was up and she was also wise enough to know that unless they wanted her to know, she wouldn’t. That was fine with her. She was patient and so was Coulson. 

Today, they talked about other things. 

“We have a new organization to build since the HYDRA infiltration and if you’re here and you’re hearing me, then you’re one of us.” Coulson was speaking to them on the computer from an undisclosed location. Agent Hill told them that others in other locations were also listening. 

Steve wondered who. Banner, probably, from wherever he and his big guy alter ego were hiding, Natasha from her hideout too maybe, Clint, who might be with Natasha. Did the Asgardians know what had happened? Would they even care? 

What were they to do? The world was weary of superheroes, especially ones they thought were really not so good after all. Since HYDRA made them look like criminals, no amount of talking could convince the politicians and leaders that they were wrong. 

Steve knew the men and women he’d met since he awoke wielded great power, more power than he’d have dreamed, even after what he’d seen in Germany during his war. Tony, alone, had so much power and money that he’d have been afraid had he not known that Tony was one of the good guys, no matter what bullshit he talked. 

He looked across the room. Tony was listening to Coulson, but he was poking that little device he had as well, always thinking, always working on some new idea. He knew Tony had been one of the biggest defense contractors in the world, if not the biggest, when he’d said no more weapons, no more killing. He might slip-slide a little now and again, but in the end, Tony was one of the men who he hoped would not allow what was left of S.H.I.E.L.D., what was left of the Avengers Initiative, to fade into memory, but move forward in their fight to make the world a safer place. 

They could not stamp out evil before it appeared. That was not their right, not their mission. He knew he might be a bit naïve, but he also knew that Nick Fury had been wrong. He had no right to take out someone who simply _might_ become evil. 

Like Bucky. 

What did Tony have in mind? Would Bucky go along? 

The room got quiet and he realized that Coulson had stopped talking. He hoped he hadn’t missed too much. Maybe Sam would fill him in later. 

Agent Hill approached him. “Rogers, I think you know where Barnes is and I need you to tell me. We need to make sure he is secure.”

Steve looked at her a minute then decided to be honest. He thought she knew anyway, so lying was probably pointless as this juncture. 

“I’ve seen him, talked to him. He remembers a little, but he’s afraid. He won’t come in. He’s afraid you’ll do to him what the Russians did, what HYDRA did to him. I can’t assure him that you won’t, because I’m not sure that I believe it myself.” 

“I can order you to do it.” 

“I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., and it no longer exists. I don’t think I take orders from anyone anymore, Agent Hill. No offense intended.”

“We can come after him.” 

“You can but you’ve seen what he can do. He might not destroy all of you but he will certainly destroy some of you. I want him to come in, to join us, but he’s afraid. I need time to make him remember, to befriend him again. Bucky Barnes is the closest thing I have to a brother in this world. I mean to help him.” He paused and looked her dead in the eyes. “No matter what.” 

She looked angry, looked like she was gritting her teeth. Hill was a tough woman and she didn’t like what he’d just said. But she was also smart enough to know that this was the only way she’d ever get Bucky. It was also the only way she’d keep Steve. 

“All right, but if one thing goes wrong, if he goes rogue, I’ll send someone to kill him. Period. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am. I do.” 

“Then don’t tell me any more details. It’s better that I don’t know.” She turned and walked away. 

Tony was at his shoulder. “Walk with me,” he said in a low voice. Steve followed him outside. 

“I won’t tell you here, but I have a place for you to take him. Give me a few hours to work it out.” 

Steve nodded. 

*

Steve found himself thinking of Tony while he should have been doing other things. He was no fool; he knew that eventually one of them would want more, physically or emotionally, and this thing would implode. 

He didn’t want that day to come soon. He knew when he pictured himself with a lover, it was someone like Peggy that he imagined, not Iron Man. Iron Man was what he got, though, and he had grown much fonder of Tony than he meant to. 

He was just getting into the ‘does he really care for me, though’ thoughts when Tony was standing beside him.

“We need to be alone,” Stark said quietly. 

“Wha-”

“I’m going to follow you into the men’s room and dry hump you until you can’t breathe. Listen to me, okay?’ 

Steve had no idea what exactly he was getting at but the dry humping sounded intriguing enough. He headed to the restroom. Tony came in a few minutes behind him. He dragged Steve into a stall, closed the door and pressed him against the door, kissing him very thoroughly as he began to thrust against him. 

He kept thrusting but broke the kiss. “I know a place in Tennessee where Bucky can go. You’ll need to go with him.”

“Safe?” 

“I think so.” Tony unzipped Steve’s pants and put his hand inside. “I spent some time there. I have a good friend who’ll watch out for you both.” He stroked Steve hard then slipped down on his knees and finished what he’d started with his mouth. 

Tony left the bathroom first though a close look would have shown how aroused he was. Steve had a little cleanup to do before he returned to the lab, where he’d been testing some suit and weapon things Fitz-Simmons were working on. 

*

Steve didn’t wait to be invited to Tony’s that evening. He simply got in Tony’s car when they left headquarters. Tony leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips before speeding out of the lot. 

“Dinner?” Tony asked. 

“Pizza?” 

“I’ll call one in when we get home.” 

“Tennessee?” Steve asked. 

“At home.” 

Steve was looking out the window as they rode along and was surprised when Tony took his hand and simply held it. 

***


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight 

When they were inside Tony’s condo, Tony finally told Steve what he had for him. 

“I was in Tennessee a few months back. I met this guy, Harley. I gave him a lab as payment for some big favors he did for me. I think you and Bucky could hide out there for a while. Harley is good people and won’t give you up. He might pester you a bit, but that’s normal.”

“Normal?” 

“He’s eleven. A bit of hustler too so don’t let him con you too much.” 

“A kid?” 

“Yep.” Tony was unzipping Steve’s pants again. “Stop talking. I want to get you in my bed one more time before I send you away.” 

He kissed Steve. No one had ever kissed him like Tony did. The kisses were dizzying. The man did things to his mouth that made his whole body shiver. 

“You’re not coming with us?” 

“Nope.” He pushed Steve toward the bedroom. “I’ll stay here and keep them from finding you.” 

Steve stopped asking questions when Tony slid his pants down and pushed him back onto the bed, then pulled the pants and his shoes off, leaving him only in his t-shirt. Tony didn’t take his eyes off of Steve as he stripped completely before crawling onto the bed. 

Steve caught him and pulled him down on top of him. “I want you,” he whispered into Tony’s ear. 

“I’m here.” 

They said very little in the next few minutes. Soft moans and murmuring were all the sounds they needed. Steve let Tony tell him what to do, what he liked, as they did things they’d not done before. It was as erotic as Tony had said, pleasure so intense that it was like nothing he’d felt before. 

They lay side by side in the dark after, neither one saying anything for a long time. Tony turned to face Steve. 

“I have had two real friends in my life. One is Pepper and one is you. The rest wanted something from me.”

Steve started to speak but Tony put his finger up to Steve’s lips. 

“I’ve fucked more people than you can imagine, but I’ve never felt this way but once before. Pepper. The thing is this: I don’t know what to do about it.”

Steve finally did speak. “I ask nothing of you. What you have given me is, well, it’s not all I want but I can live with it. I understand what she means to you.”

Tony moved closer and kissed his cheek. “You don’t know what you mean to me though. I’m not willing to let you go. I want you in my life, too.”

“Maybe we should just wait until this situation is over to decide what to do.” Steve felt an unexpected surge of – what? Joy? Love? 

“Maybe so. Tonight is all we have for a while. Let’s not talk too much.” 

And they didn’t. Steve showed Tony a few things as well. 

*

Dawn had Steve in the garden, waiting for Bucky. Suddenly, Bucky was there, sitting beside him on the bench. 

“Tony has a place for us to go. You and me. We can hang out there as long as we need to.” 

“Will I remember the past? You?” 

“I hope so. Do you trust me?” 

He looked Bucky in the eyes and saw a little of the man he knew in there. 

“I want to. I have to, I think. I’ll go. I have little to lose.”

Tony came out and sat down beside Steve. When Bucky made to rise, Steve put a hand on his leg. 

“Stay. Tony is the one who is helping us.”

Bucky sat still, though Steve could feel the tension in him. 

“Come inside. I have coffee and I’ll tell you about everything,” Tony said to them both. 

Bucky was unsure, but he followed Steve anyway. Tony poured coffee and sat down at the bar in the kitchen. 

“I stayed with this boy in Tennessee when I was being hunted by Killian. He’s a tinkerer and a hustler, but he’s a good kid. He’ll watch out for you. If I were still in the suit business, I’d make you suits but honestly, I think the best way to go is on Steve’s bike. Take a small pack and buy what you need when you get there. I’ve got a big stack of cash cards as well as plain old cash for you.” Tony stopped suddenly, realizing that he was talking so fast that he was making his own head spin. Steve touched his arm and he felt himself calm down. 

Bucky asked, “Why are you doing this for me?” 

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Steve. He says you’re worth it. Don’t prove him wrong.”

Bucky looked from one to the other, trying to figure out what was between them. Even in his state of mind, he recognized more than just friendship. He filed the information away in case he needed it and was surprised to find that he hoped he didn’t. 

Tony continued, “You’ll leave today. Use burners to call me and never use them more than once. I don’t think Hill will come after you, but your former bosses want you back and Steve dead, so you’ll need to be careful. If they do find you, let me know somehow and get the hell out fast.” 

He stopped talking abruptly. “How soon can you be ready?” he asked.

“I am ready now,” Bucky answered at the same time Steve did. Steve picked up the pack he carried and felt in his pocket for his keys. “I need a ride to the motorcycle.” 

“Can I have a moment with Steve?” Tony asked Bucky. Bucky nodded and went to the den and sat on the sofa. 

Tony handed Steve a wallet full of money and cards along with a burner phone. “Be careful. I—just be careful.”

Steve cut him off with a kiss, a long, deep kiss, a kiss to last them both for as long as it took. When it was done, he headed to the door, nodding for Bucky to follow. 

He never heard Tony whisper, “Love you,” in a quiet voice. 

*

They made Tennessee in pretty good time but it was full dark by the time they found Harley’s garage. The boy was expecting them. He’d stocked the fridge with soda, juice and frozen pizza and the cabinet with lots of peanut butter, crackers and sandwich bread. 

“So you’re really Captain America? If the Mechanic says you’re a good guy, then you are.” 

“The Mechanic?” 

“Stark. Oh, and my little sister and mom know you’re here but they won’t come out here. Make yourselves at home, but leave my stuff alone. There’s a couple of cots to sleep on. If you need me, just buzz the intercom.” 

And the boy was gone back into the house. 

Steve realized that he was nervous. The last time he’d spent any real time with Bucky was when they were on the Helicarrier and Bucky had nearly beat him to death. 

“Steve, tell me about Bucky Barnes,” Bucky said quietly. “I have something like snapshots in my head sometimes but I can’t seem to put any memories with them.” 

“Tell me about the snapshots. We’ve known one another all our lives, so I might know what you see.” Steve went to the refrigerator, an old one that had been kept as a spare, and grabbed some water bottles. He handed one to Bucky as he sat down on his cot. 

“Baseball. I see baseball.” 

Steve smiled. “We were Brooklyn Dodgers fans, you and I. We went every chance we got.”

“Did we play baseball?” He asked. 

“You did. I was kinda little in those days.”

“What did they do to me, Steve?” Bucky looked angry and afraid. 

“I don’t know for sure, but I think they did something to make you forget who you were—are and I think they did it every time you remembered anything. When we fought on the street, you recognized me.”

“But I didn’t later?”

“No, I think Pierce had them erase your memory again.” 

“So tell me more about the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

And he did. He told Bucky about how they went to Ebbets Field and how much they liked eating hot dogs and sneaking a beer now and again. 

“How old am I?”

“You’re - we were - we’re both in our nineties.”

Bucky looked shocked. 

“How can that be?” 

“Whatever makes us stronger than other men also made us invulnerable to ice. We were frozen. And then thawed.” 

“I don’t know what to think of that. I’m very tired. Is it okay if I go to sleep?” 

Steve smiled. “Of course. It’s been a long day.”

Bucky lay on the narrow cot and closed his eyes, and in his mind’s eye, for just a brief second, he saw a scrawny boy looking up at him with big determined eyes. Steve’s eyes. 

He slept. 

~~~


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine 

Tony fretted all day and into the evening until Harley called him. 

“The package was delivered,” the boy said, “and nothing was broken.”

Tony thanked him profusely and spoke to his mother, thanking her as well. He made himself some microwave food and crawled into his bed early. He meant to go to sleep but he couldn’t sleep. He’d gotten used to sleeping in the guest bed in Steve’s room, gotten used to Steve’s gentle snores and moans as he slept. It was too quiet. 

He called Pepper, who was as busy as she’d ever been, running Stark Industries while he played hero. 

“I miss you, Tony,” she said. He could hear her breathing as she moved around, doing other things while she talked to him. It wasn’t late enough for bed in California yet.

“I know but I have no idea when I’ll get back.” He started to tell her about Coulson and the new agency now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone but realized that he could be bugged even though he swept the place several times a day. “I’m still pretty busy here,” he finished lamely. 

“I’ll be here. Tony,” she paused like she did when she was trying to decide whether to say something or not, “is everything okay?”

“I’m just really tired and I miss you,” he finally said. “I love you, Pepper.” 

“I love you too. Goodnight.” 

He lay there for a long while after the call ended. What was he going to do? 

*

Steve woke too early to get up. It was still dark out and Bucky was still asleep. He lay on his cot and thought of Tony and the last few days. What was going to happen with them? Surely Tony would go home to Pepper. He didn’t even try to give a name to the ache he felt at that thought. 

*

Tony Stark was still in the DC area, still staying in his condo. He’d just gotten out of the bed and headed to the kitchen when he saw the redhead sitting on one of the barstools. 

“Dammit, Natasha, you scared the shit out of me!” 

“Where is he?” 

“He, who?” 

“Rogers.” 

“Not here. Why?” 

“He might be in danger.” 

“How did you get by all the alarms and locks?” 

She shrugged, declining to answer. 

“Danger from whom?” 

“HYDRA, most likely,” she said.

“Barnes? Is Barnes working for HYDRA?”

She chewed her lip for a second then shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think they want to capture either or both of them, try to brainwash them and make them into HYDRA operatives.”

“Fuck!” Tony hissed under his breath. 

“Are they together?”

“What do you think?” 

“Damn.” 

“How do you know these things, Natasha?” Tony started coffee in his machine, not because he wanted any but because he needed something to do with his hands. 

“I just do, Stark. Rogers is in trouble, _and_ he is an asset we can’t afford to lose.” 

“I sent them away. Bucky didn’t want to come in. For once, I agreed with him and Steve. They’d poke around in his head for the side of right, but they’d poke around anyway.”

“Can you warn them?” She went to one cabinet then another until she found the coffee cups and set them by the coffee maker. 

“I can call the person I sent them to, but I’ll have to wait for Steve to call me.” 

“Then do it and then you, me and Sam need to take a road trip.” 

*

Steve and Bucky both got up early, too early. Steve found cereal and milk. They ate in companionable silence. Steve put on a t-shirt and sweatpants for his run. Bucky watched him curiously. 

“Why do you run?” 

“It makes me feel good, helps me think.” 

Bucky nodded. 

“Want to come along?” Steve asked. 

Bucky shook his head. “I’ll make some coffee, if I can find some, and get a shower.” Bucky was remembering little things, but he didn’t want to tell Steve yet, didn’t want to disappoint him if there were no more real memories in his head. 

Steve was back in an hour, Bucky was clean but not dressed, sitting around in a towel. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I have no clothes but the ones I wore, and they’re pretty gamy by now.” 

“I think my clothes will fit you. I brought a few extras. Just get what you need,” Steve said as he rummaged around for food. “Are you hungry all the time?” he asked. 

Bucky almost smiled. “Not as much as you are.” 

Steve grinned and made a peanut butter sandwich. “I’ll ask Harley about doing some laundry.” 

As if summoned, the boy came into the garage from the house. “The Mechanic called. He said that Widow said there is someone coming for you.”

Steve nodded as if this were some mundane message he was expecting, but he said very quietly to Harley, “You need to get your mom to take you and your sister on a vacation today.” 

Harley nodded and headed back into the house.

“What was that about?” Bucky asked. 

“We have company coming. Nat told Tony.”

“What do we do?” Bucky asked. 

“Get those three to safety then we fight. What else can we do?” 

Harley came back in the room. He looked nervous. He silently pointed to a trunk and handed the key to Steve. When Steve started to speak, Harley shook his head. The boy turned and went back into the house. 

Steve unlocked the trunk and Bucky dressed in his dirty clothes. The trunk had weapons, many that only Stark could have put here. He lifted out one and handed it to Bucky and took one himself. 

Bucky looked it over and was satisfied he could operate the gun. He nodded at Steve. 

Steve pointed to himself then to the door into the house. He pointed to Bucky and motioned for him to stay in the room right now. 

Steve Rogers grabbed his shield, took a deep breath and opened the door to Harley’s home. One of the men was tying the children’s mother to a chair. The other sat on the couch with the children on one side of him. He held a pistol and was saying, “If you’ll tell me where they are…” 

“Here I am. You probably want to let these people go.” 

“I don’t think so,” said a third man who came in from the kitchen with a long, ugly knife in his hand. “I was just telling the boy that I enjoy carving.” His smile was ugly and he looked as if he’d been carved on some time in his life. 

“It’s me you want. Let them go and I’ll go with you.” Steve hoped Bucky wouldn’t jump in too soon. Keeping the family safe was his primary goal right now, then keeping Bucky safe. 

“We want your friend with the shiny arm, too.” This came from the one with the knife, who appeared to be the leader. 

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has him. He’s a lost cause, keeps babbling about HYDRA and more heads growing back. The science guys decided to play with his head some.” 

“We knows he’s here. We saw him with you.”

Steve laughed. “Do you think I’m that stupid? He’s a decoy. So am I.” Steve hoped that it was true and Tony and Nat were taking down bigger fish in the DC area. 

“Put down the gun and that silly shield, then Rogers,” the leader said. “Come with us peacefully and we won’t harm these children.” 

Steve knew that he could take them all out, but he didn’t want to kill anyone in front of the children. He laid down his weapons and held his hands up. The knife man motioned him onto his knees. He pulled a gun tucked in the back of his pants and put it to Steve’ head. 

He and the other two never even saw what was coming as Bucky burst through the door, taking down the one with the children while Steve grabbed his shield and threw it at the knife guy, knocking him out in an instant. The man guarding Harley’s mother never had a chance as Bucky dropped him with one swipe of his metallic arm. They tied the three up and freed the captives. 

“Go! Get out.” Steve called out as they did just that. 

“More coming?” Bucky asked.

“Count on it.” 

Harley and his family were gone, out the back and to his mother’s car parked down the street. It had some money and suitcases in the trunk. Harley had worked out that part with Tony before Steve and Bucky even got there. 

~~~~


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Tony, Sam and Nat made record time, but the only thing they found at Harley’s house were the three HYDRA thugs, tied up and gagged. One of them had a note pinned to his shirt. 

_Take care of these. After others.  
Cap_

Tony looked up from the note. “Damn! There were more of them and we have no idea –” 

“Give me a few minutes,” Natasha interrupted. 

Tony shrugged and led Sam outside. 

Nat came out in a few minutes. “Four more. Not sure where, but I expect they’re following Cap and Barnes.”

“Steve will know that.” 

“How about the boy and his family?” Sam asked. 

Tony gave Sam a Hello Kitty watch and a piece of paper with an address on it. “Try not to be conspicuous. Give Harley the watch.”

Fifteen minutes later, Sam drove up to the address. It was quiet. Too quiet. He called Tony, told him just what he saw. 

“Wait for us. We’re almost there.”

Sam heard gunfire. Waiting was not an option. He pulled his own weapon and made his way across the lawn to the house. The gunfire was inside and quite sporadic. He moved down low and approached. 

Tony and Nat were with him suddenly. 

“Gunfire inside,” he mouthed silently. 

The house got quiet. Very, very quiet.

Steve appeared in the doorway with two limp men in his arms. Bucky was behind him with two more. 

“Can someone help with the trash?” Rogers called to Tony. 

“We’ll take them,” Nat said, moving around Tony to get a look at the HYDRA agents. “Just put them in the car. Sam and I will take them off your hands, won’t we?” 

Sam looked a little confused, but only a little. He nodded and they left Bucky, Steve and Tony to sort the rest out. 

Harley and his mother were actually long gone and had been all the time. Tony had worked out a plan with Harley’s mom to keep the little family safe as well as to trap the HYDRA agents after Steve and Bucky. 

Without one bit of hesitation, Tony grabbed Steve Rogers and kissed him full on the lips. Bucky grinned. That was when Tony noticed he was different. 

“What’s with you?” 

Bucky looked at them both and shook his head. “Sometime when we were fighting those guys, I knew things, things I hadn’t known in long years. Like exactly how many fights Steve got me into so he wouldn’t get killed. Thirty–two is the answer, by the way.”

Steve just started. “Is it really you?”

Bucky stopped and just stood there for a long moment. “I don’t know why but yes, it’s me. While we were fighting, when I thought those jerks would hurt that boy and his family, I suddenly remembered you and us and everything.”

Steve threw both arms around Bucky and lifted him off the ground in a bear hug.

Bucky looked at Tony. “Does he throw you around too?” 

Tony actually blushed. “Um, well, not so much.” 

“Let’s get out of the street before we draw any unwanted attention. I think we got them all but you can never be too sure,” Tony led them to the car he and Nat came in. Steve got in the front beside him and put a hand on his thigh as they drove back to Harley’s house. 

All he could think about was kissing Steve all over sometime later. 

*

Private jets were the way to travel, Steve decided as they all flew back to DC on one of Stark Industries’ jets. Bucky was napping while Sam and Nat had their heads stuck together, deep in conversation. Tony and Steve sat side by side. Steve was dying to kiss Tony again, but he didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the others. Tony had the same thing in mind and he leaned close and kissed Steve’s cheek before kissing his lips. 

“I’ve missed you. I couldn’t sleep without hearing you snore,” Tony whispered as he reached a hand across Steve’s chest. He could feel the steady heartbeat beneath his hand. 

Steve pulled his mouth back for another kiss, this one deep and hungry. 

Tony laughed. “I feel like a kid making out on the school bus.” 

Steve grabbed the hand on his chest and moved it lower. He sucked in a deep breath as Tony caressed him through his pants. 

Steve found a blanket and pulled it over them so at least their hands could roam freely until they got to DC. 

*

Hill was fit to tie but Steve held his ground. 

“Same deal as before. He will come in if he wants, and you can’t pick his head apart.” 

“He could still be a HYDRA agent.”

“So could I. He is going to stay with Stark until he decides what he wants to do.”

“Someday the magic of being Captain America is going to wear off,” Hill warned him. 

“Then I’ll stop using it but now, I’m still golden.”

Maria Hill finally gave him a rare near smile. “You are, Rogers. You still are.”

*

Bucky was actually anxious to work for Hill and what was left of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Rogers made him take it slow. That was okay with him too. It was taking a little time to become Bucky again. 

He smiled to himself as he watched the television news. 

Living with Stark and Steve as lovers was taking a bit of getting used to as well. He smiled. It sort of made him wish he had someone to snuggle with as well. 

*

“Shhh.” 

Steve moaned. “I can’t be quiet when you do that to me, Tony!” Tony was pressed tight against Steve’s backside and had one hand around the front of Steve’s body, running it up and down his cock. He whispered sweet endearments and obscenities into Steve’s ear as well. 

Tony moved so he was pressing into Steve rather than against him,

Steve cried out again. Tony said nothing this time, showing no mercy at all until they both lay limp and used up in each other’s arms.

Steve thought he heard Tony whisper something just before he drifted off to sleep. It sounded like “Love you.”

He smiled. 

~end~


End file.
